Story and photo by Staff Sgt. Andrew Porch

CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait — Temperatures beginning to rise in the Middle East did not deter Soldiers from the 204th Brigade Support Battalion from certifying in chemical gear exchange and operational decontamination on Camp Buehring, Kuwait, March 12, 2014.

“The main focus is to bring some type of positive informational awareness about CBRNE to the units,” said Staff Sgt. Joshua Thorton, instructor and battalion CBRNE noncommissioned officer in charge, 204th BSB. “Being the CBRNE representative for company and battalion level, you have to make training relevant, and you have to make people aware of the type of threats that are out there.”

Under the watchful eye of 2nd Special Troops Battalion, 2nd ABCT, Soldiers, the “Roughrider” Battalion received two days of training to ensure they were capable of conducting organized decon in case the primary team is unavailable.

“I wanted to give the 204th CBRNE representatives, as well as their decon team members, an overview and an outlook on operational decon, because we would be the secondary asset to perform decon for the brigade,” said Thornton.

Most of the Soldiers who participated in the training hadn’t touched CBRNE equipment since basic training.

“It is something that is different,” said Pfc. Rebecca Curlee, health care specialist, Company C, 204th BSB. “It is something that we are not used to, and it is out of our comfort zone.”

Senior CRBNE leadership members identified a few things that the Soldiers must take away from the training.

“They emphasized ‘don’t contaminate each other,’” said Curlee. “They are making sure we use the correct procedures and methods. They are really making sure everyone does it the right way.”

Thorton said he appreciated what the training did for his Soldiers.

“I think they took away what their priorities are in the event we come under some type of chemical contamination,” said Thornton. “They took away what their duties and responsibilities are, as far as setting up and running an operational decon lane.

As the two-day instruction neared an end, leaders said they knew the training conducted was important.

“I feel grateful for the fact that the brigade is emphasizing CBRNE skills,” said Sgt. 1st Class Patrick Fanning, senior brigade CBRNE noncommissioned officer. “Sometimes it gets lost in all of our other priorities, but I feel pretty happy that we got this opportunity.”

As the training came to an end, the instructors felt positive in the abilities of the newly certified decontamination team.

“I would say they have grown tremendously over the last two days,” said Thornton. “I feel like their level of confidence in the CBRNE program at the unit level has grown.”